Tam Lin
by Sharedsun
Summary: I forbid ye, maidens all, that wear gold in your hair; to come or go by Carterhaugh, for young Tam Lin is there" Alice/Jasper centered BxE, RxEm
1. Chapter 1

"I forbid ye maidens all

That wear gold in your hair

To come or go by Carterhaugh

For young Tam Lin is there"

Her parents had wanted her to go to Blackstock since long before she was born. And Alice didn't mind either; in fact, she'd been wanting to go ever since she'd been old enough to attend one of her father's lectures.

"You all set sweetheart?" her mother asked, anxiously reaching out to smooth Alice's long black hair. Alice sighed.

"Yes mother."

"Good. We'll just leave you to unpack then." She turned and left the small college dorm room in a hurry, not glancing back. Trying to be brave about it, Alice supposed.

Finally alone, Alice stared around. The walls were painted in a nondescript beige color, and the double sets of bunk beds were covered in quilts of a darker shade. The window lacked curtains of any sort, and there were only two desks provided. It would be rather cramped for three, she noted, but freshmen were used to being crowded.

She began to unpack, wondering what her roommates would be like. She had already met the RA, a pretty dark skinned girl named Emily. Alice was to call on her in times of need, or every first Friday of the month, whichever came first. And Tanya from down the hall seemed nice enough too.

Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock. Alice straightened up from where she'd been bending over her books and stared at the girl standing in the doorway. She was slender, with chocolate colored eyes and straight brown hair. She stood with her harms pressed tight across her chest, as if trying to make herself smaller, or invisible.

"Hello," Alice said kindly, "I'm Alice Brandon. Who're you?"

"Bella Swan," the girl answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She took a step forward. "I think we're roommates."

Alice considered for a moment. Timidity wasn't a bad quality. Maybe she would come out of her shell more once they spent more time together. It was hard to be shy with someone you saw eight or nine hours a day. "Yep."

Bella flashed a bright smile, jerking hard to get an oversized trunk over the small step in the doorway and stumbling into the room. "Good."

Alice nodded and continued to unpack. She lined up her books alphabetically by author on the bottom shelves of the bookcase. She was reasonably sure she would be the smallest one of their trio, and could hardly be blamed for monopolizing the shelves lowest to the ground.

Bella began to imitate her, methodically pulling clothes out of her trunk and placing them neatly in the dresser drawers. Alice noticed that she tended to favor shirts with long sleeves in browns and blues, and owned not a single pair of jeans.

They were interrupted once again, but the new girl didn't knock. She just strode right in and plopped herself down onto the bottom bunk of the bed nearest the window. A moment later, she was joined by an absurdly muscular young man carrying not one, but two large travel bags.

"Just put them there on the bed, Emmett." The new girl waved at the other bed, and Alice stared. She was beautiful, but Alice's good opinion of her looks was soured immediately by her demeanor.

Emmett obeyed, easily lifting both bags onto the bed and setting them down on their sides. Bella spoke up from the corner of the room. "Are you Rosalie?"

The blond beauty turned slowly and looked Bella up and down. Bella turned bright red and clamped her mouth shut. "That I am," Rosalie drawled.

Alice moved instinctively to Bella's side, and met Rosalie's stare evenly. There was something…off about their newest roommate.

"Play nice, Rosalie." Emmett chided from the doorway, ducking out and heading down the hallway, "I'll see you later."

"Mmmn." Rosalie tilted her head to the side, eyeing Alice. "What's your name?"

"Alice." Alice stood up straight, aiming to look as tall as possible; quite a challenge for someone under five feet.

Rosalie snorted. "Like from Wonderland?"

"No. I'm not as nice as she was." Alice smirked.

Rosalie frowned. "But she wasn't nice at all."

"Exactly."

Alice turned away, deliberately putting her back to Rosalie, and said, "So, Bella, which bed do you want?"

It was dark by the time they had finally gotten everything worked out, and unpacked. Alice's back ached from bending over so much, but she didn't whine about it.

"If I have to lift another thing today, I think I'll have to shoot something." Bella complained, rolling her shoulder around in its socket, grimacing.

Alice chuckled. "As long as it's not me, go right ahead."

Bella sighed, "Don't tempt me. Rosalie might accidentally enter the moment I try to shoot the door down. Totally coincidentally, you understand."

"Clear as crystal," Alice affirmed, "But that's probably not going to happen. She's gone out for dinner. Why don't we do the same?"

"Sure." Bella agreed, going over to the closet and retrieving her pair of gym shoes. "Let's have pizza. Or something."

"Pizza sounds fine. The dining hall in Taylor is probably still serving dinner." Alice tugged on a pair of loafers and led the way out of the dorm.

The wind blew fiercely, tangling their hair and whipping against their cheeks. That was how they looked stumbling into Taylor, red-faced and laughing. The laughter died down in their throats when they caught a glimpse of Rosalie and her posse staring from across the room.

The group consisted of four people; Rosalie and three boys. One Alice recognized as the young man who had carried up Rosalie's books. The others were unfamiliar. Bella gasped from beside her.

Alice agreed. "Wow."

Surprisingly, Rosalie waved them over. Bella and Alice exchanged glances, then slowly walked forward. The group shifted to make room for them. A beautiful blond boy smiled at her, and Alice immediately took the open seat beside him. Bella ended up across from her, smiling at a younger bronze haired man.

"Let me introduce you," Rosalie began, gesturing toward her group, "Emmett you know—Chemistry major. Jasper is a good friend of mine, he's in Psychology. Then there's Edward," She flashed a knowing look at the youngest, "Who is a lowly freshman and, therefore, has no major."

"Yet," Edward grinned, "But don't let her fool you. I know where I'm going. _She_ on the other hand, is a freshman with no clue what she'll do for the rest of her life."

"What are you going to do?" Bella piped up. Edward turned his dazzling smile onto her, and she blushed.

"Classics." He said, "And don't believe anyone who tells you they're a bunch of loonies."

Rosalie cleared her throat in annoyance and continued, "These are my roommates. Alice," she pointed at Alice, "and Bella."

A general chorus of 'pleased to meet you' and 'hello' went around the table. Alice caught Jasper's eye, and held it. He smiled slowly at her and she grinned back. He probably thought he knew exactly what she was thinking.

She was distracted by the scraping of chairs as Edward rose to bring some food for the table, and Bella scrambled up as well, offering to accompany him. Alice felt rather sorry for the girl; she was so obviously smitten with him.

"What are you planning to major in?" Jasper asked, reclaiming her attention. Alice turned to study him for a moment before answering.

"Probably Biology."

"Pre-med? Would-be doctor?"

Alice laughed. "You betcha."

"Well, you two certainly got chummy pretty quickly," Emmett joked. Alice looked over at him, and blinked in surprise when she saw Rosalie draped over his lap.

Jasper said nothing. He was staring across the room at the two people who had just entered; a girl and a boy. The boy was fairly nondescript; average height, weight, brown hair, pale skin. His was the sort of face you would forget even as you were looking at it. The girl was a little more distinctive, sporting bright red hair and a blue dragon tattoo curling around her forearm.

Together they made their way over toward the table. Alice sensed more than saw Jasper tense beside her. Emmett was frowning, no longer amused. Rosalie was as serene and beautiful as always. Alice could feel her brows puckering in confusion.

The boy was staring at her. The girl didn't seem to notice, instead focusing her attention on Rosalie. "Picked up a stray, have we?"

It was Jasper who answered, saying aggressively, "What's it to you?"

The redhead turned on him in surprise, "Touchy, aren't we Jasper? I would have never pinned you for the type. Just don't forget to clean up after yourself."

Jasper snarled. Alice twitched. The boy was still staring at her. Even after his girlfriend led him away he turned back to meet her eye. She watched him in surprise as he stopped, and started to turn back.

Immediately Jasper grabbed her arm, hauling her to her feet. Alice barely had time to register shock as he hustled her out the door, past the strangers and into the wind. He jogged, still holding her upper arm in a bruising grip, forcing her to run alongside him.

"What are you doing?" She gasped, and he turned his head to scowl at her.

"It wasn't safe for you there. Stay away from them from now on."

Alice stopped dead, dragging her feet. He continued on for a few paces before realizing that she was no longer moving.

"What?" He asked, irritated.

"What are you talking about?" Alice demanded. "I want an explanation before I move another inch."

"Don't be foolish. I could just move you myself if I wanted," he threatened.

"You wouldn't." Alice said smugly. "Now answer my question."

"You don't know what you're asking."

Alice clenched her jaw and ripped her arm out of his grasp. There were going to be bruises. She stalked away toward her dorm, mentally cursing Jasper for ruining her dinner. He caught up with her easily.

"Alice…" There was an almost pleading note in his voice. Alice turned and looked at him. He was incredibly, impossibly handsome. And he was following her.

"What?" She said, rather rudely.

Wisely, he changed tack. "Are you still hungry? Why don't we go out for pizza?"

"And then you'll answer me?"

He only cast her a worried look before taking her hand, more gently this time, and leading her back along the path.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, I didn't really explain much last chapter--if you even remember last chapter, its been so long ago. Sorry. So the idea here is that Alice is a freshman at a college called Blackstock, where her father is a literature professor. Her two roommates are Bella and Rosalie. Rosalie also has a group of close friends (all male) that include Jasper, Edward, and Emmett. There's something strange about those four...and Alice is getting curious. Especially when she begins to become more involved with Jasper, and odd things start to happen.

Yes. That's a basic synopsis. I had an immense amount of fun with this chapter. It is not all that long, but more should come sooner, depending on the response to this chapter.

* * *

"None that go by Carterhaugh  
but they leave him a pledge  
Either their mantles of green  
or else their maidenheads"

Alice sat fidgeting in her chair under the intense gaze of her companion. She had the sudden notion that Jasper could be very scary when he wanted to be.

"Are you going to sit there quietly all night?" She asked crossly, to break the silence.

He looked rather startled, then composed himself, "No."

Alice snorted. "Way to go, Jasper."

He glowered, and muttered, "Should have just let Victoria have you."

Alice opened her mouth to ask for clarification, but at that moment their pizza arrived, steaming hot. Her stomach growled, and she snatched up a slice. Jasper sat still, watching her with a wary expression in his eyes.

She paused with the pizza halfway to her mouth, thinking it odd that he hadn't immediately snapped one up as well. Boys that age practically inhaled _anything_ edible.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, the intensity in his eyes shifted to concern.

She blinked and shook herself, as if trying to rid herself of the sudden uneasiness that passed over her. "Nothing. Aren't you hungry?"

An odd expression passed over his face, something like a cross between a grimace and a smirk, and he said, "No. I'm not hungry."

Alice blinked. She hadn't pegged that for a difficult question. Clearly, if she intended to spend more time with this man—which she still wasn't certain she wanted to—she had her work cut out for her in trying to understand little quirks like these.

Once the first piece of pizza was gone, and half the second, she finally slowed down and looked up. Jasper was staring at her again, this time with undisguised amazement.

"What?"

"How can you eat like that and still be so tiny?" He wondered aloud.

"Jasper!" Alice couldn't decide whether she wanted to laugh, or give him a good smack. So she did both, "You just don't _say_ things like that to a woman."

He chuckled at her, and she smiled back. For an instant, the walls were gone and they understood each other. Then Alice remembered why she was, in fact, no longer eating with the group in Taylor Hall. Jasper saw some of this in her face, and his own closed off again in response.

Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. Slowly, deliberately, Alice set down the remainder of her pizza. "I think you owe me an explanation."

"I owe you nothing," he snapped, brow creasing with an anger that seemed to be mostly frustration. At what, Alice couldn't tell.

"What is wrong with you?" Alice felt her anger was totally justifiable; he had snapped first. He opened his mouth, probably to snap out some sort of witty retort, but Alice cut him off with a raised hand, "You nearly beat up some guy in a public cafeteria, and then proceed to drag me out of said cafeteria for absolutely no reason. I went to eat dinner with my roommate, and now I'm stuck here being glared at by you—which isn't an improvement, in case you were wondering. Yeah, I'd say you owe me some sort of explanation."

Jasper was smiling by the end of her rant. It wasn't a pretty smile. Or a nice one. "Temper, temper," he whispered, eyes flashing.

Alice was beginning to feel the first trickles of fear crawling up her spine. How much did she really know about this man? He was a complete stranger. It probably wasn't even safe to be sitting here with him. He had already shown that he probably had at least few screws loose. Maybe she had better call someone to come walk her home.

But even as she studied his face, doing her best to keep her own fears from showing, he began to relax. The frightening intensity faded from his eyes, and he leaned back into his chair.

"You're afraid of me," he murmured, with something very much like regret shading his voice.

Alice glared, the twinges of panic she'd been feeling disappearing under a cover of anger. She hated being patronized.

He started to lean toward her again, but caught himself and stopped, his hands gripping the edges of the table. "Will you let me walk you home?"

"No," Alice told him firmly, rising. She reached for her wallet to pay for the food, but Jasper had already slapped several crisp bills on the table, and was hustling her out, one pale hand wrapped around her elbow. The minute they were out the door Alice snatched her arm away—or, attempted to. He was very strong. There were going to be bruises on her forearm, and he didn't even seem to notice he was still holding her.

Her pride battled her pain, and lost. "Jasper, I think you're cutting off my circulation," she said frostily.

Jasper looked down in surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Alice sniffed, but accepted it with a nod of her head. She waited until he was focused on the street again to try and rub some blood back into the lower half of her arm. They were walking in silence again, and it was getting slightly awkward. Alice never did like long pauses. She opened her mouth to ask a question, and then remembered she was angry with Jasper and closed it again. She would just have to endure.

Jasper glanced over at her then, and chuckled, no doubt at the stoic expression she had plastered on her face. She gracefully ignored him, which caused him to smile even wider. It was with relief that Alice caught a glimpse of her dorm building, and began to walk a little faster.

Jasper, damn him, only had to lengthen his stride a tiny bit to keep up. Stupid tall people.

"Is this yours?" he asked, when she stopped below the crumbling brick arch that read, in rusting metal 'Ericson'.

She thought it should be obvious. She _had_ stopped walking. "Yes." When he didn't move, she clarified, "Which means you can go now."

He just looked at her. "I'll wait until you get in."

Throwing her arms up in a gesture of exaggerated frustration, she stalked toward the entrance, muttering to herself about pigheaded psychologists. It didn't help that it took her a while to find her key card, and even longer for the stupid machine to process it and let her in. When she turned to close the door, she caught a glimpse of him, still standing there.

Her breath caught. The clouds covering the sky had shifted, and the moon was peeking out. A single ray fell on Jasper, illuminating his golden hair and one side of his face. The rest was cast in shadow. He looked like an angel. No, she thought, as she forced herself to turn away so she could breathe, no angel could look so dangerous. A fallen angel, perhaps.

She could feel the artistic fervor coming on. Every so often she would feel the sudden _need_ to create. Inspiration like this didn't hit as often as she'd like, and never when she really needed it too. But it had hit now, and she ran up the stairs to the third floor.

* * *

Rosalie and Bella were already back. Both of their heads snapped up as she burst into the room, almost tripping over the slight bump just before the doorframe.

"Alice, are you okay?" Bella asked, concern evident in her features.

Rosalie said nothing, but her stare was just as curious and, when Alice looked a little closer, she could see the worry behind the tranquil beauty that seemed to be Rosalie's default.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened," she added, answering the unspoken question. Rosalie relaxed back into her bed and picked up the magazine that had slipped to the floor. Bella reached out and grabbed Alice's hands, dragging her to sit on the bed.

"Well, how was it?"

Alice blinked. Did Bella just ask…?

Rosalie interceded smoothly, "What she means is, how was your dinner date?"

Oh. "It was good," Alice replied cautiously. "That Jasper is a real character. He didn't ask me out again, though."

Bella was literally twitching with excitement. Alice stared. There was no way her information about Jasper could cause this kind of a reaction in someone who had seen him for less than a minute. So Bella's enthusiasm must have been for—

"How was your dinner with Edward, Bella?"

Bella wasted no time in regaling Alice with the details. Alice smiled and nodded at the right intervals, but her mind was elsewhere. Elsewhere in this case meaning on the mystery that was Jasper. Despite the disaster that their sort-of-date had turned out to be, he had intrigued her. She would, she decided, like to see more of him.

There was a comfortable silence in the room as everyone moved to get ready for bed. It amused Alice to note the differences in her two roommates. Rosalie stripped down right in the room, obviously not at all self conscious. And, Alice thought jealously, with a body like that she didn't need to be. Bella, on the other hand, escaped to the bathroom down the hall to change.

Alice shrugged into the tank top and boxers that she usually wore, and examined the nightwear of her friends. It was exactly as she had predicted. Rosalie wore a short silk nightgown with spaghetti straps in a shade of red so vibrant it almost burned. Bella wore a long sleeved t-shirt with a large hole near the hem, and a pair of loose grey sweatpants. It didn't seem to bother her that the temperature outside was seventy nine degrees.

Alice was beginning to notice a trend. But it was okay, she decided, as the three of them whispered their goodnights; Bella's heartfelt, Rosalie's flippant. Differences were what could make or break relationships—and she was determined that these ones would work.

It was a sort of challenge, she decided, smiling to herself, and God knew she never turned down a challenge.

* * *

Chapter Notes: So...I kind of like this story. It's not so much like Pamela Dean's book anymore (though thank you to the reviewer who complimented me by saying so--that was one of the nicest things I've ever read in a review) but I sort of like where it's headed. Which, up until two days ago, was exactly nowhere. But then I updated 'Retrieval' and got into a writing frenzy, then wrote this in one day.

Questions, comments, concerns, anything--you can totally talk to me. Or, as the case may be, write to me. I'll try to answer specific questions, as long as they don't give away too much of the story. Not that I know too much about the story anyways.

The quotes on the top of the chapters are from the Ballad of Tam Lin. They'll make more sense as the story goes on--I really like the ballad, by the way. Major points for anyone who can see the connection already.

Read and Review please. More response quicker chapters.

Sharedsun


	3. Chapter 3

"So Janet has kilted her green mantle  
Just a little above her knee,  
And she has gone to Carterhaugh  
Just as fast as she could flee."

Sighing heavily, Alice stared at the half completed sketch on her pad. She'd gone to bed last night with the fierce urge to draw, or write something after inspiration hit in the form of Jasper under the moon. But, foolish as she was, she'd put off beginning anything until morning. Now she'd lost _it_. That spark that changed her work from "very nice" to "brilliant".

"Alice? Have you seen my copy of _Hamlet_ anywhere?" Bella darted into their room, snatching up books at random and shoving them into an already overstuffed backpack. "I have class in half an hour! I'll be late! For my first class!"

Rosalie glanced up briefly from the biology text she'd immersed herself in and frowned. "Bella. Calm down. Just go without for today and find it later—you can look on with someone else."

"Easy for you to say!" Bella shot back. Both Alice and Rosalie blinked in surprise as the shy, even-tempered Bella twisted her features into an ugly snarl.

Rosalie recovered her composure immediately and turned back to her chapter on microorganisms, murmuring disinterestedly, "Only trying to help."

Alice set her drawing pad and pencils aside and began to assist Bella in her quest. Finally, six minutes later Bella emerged from underneath her bed, triumphantly brandishing a dusty, dog-eared copy of _Hamlet_. "Found it," she cried jubilantly, brushing lint from the front of her t-shirt. Her burst of good humor vanished as suddenly as it had arrived; she'd caught a glimpse of the time on Rosalie's clock. The neon numbers read quarter to one. With a shriek of dismay, Bella raced out the door and charged onto the staircase, not bothering to wait for the elevator. Alice could hear her banging all the way down to the first floor and out the main door.

Rosalie looked up and met Alice's exasperated gaze. For a moment they understood each other completely. Then it passed, and the world returned to normal. Rosalie continued her reading, and Alice went back to the sloppy outline of a man on her paper.

She sketched out a few more lines and sighed. It didn't look like Jasper. If she tilted her head just so, and half closed her eyes…maybe. If Jasper were a three eyed dwarf.

Her watch beeped loudly, and Rosalie looked up in surprised irritation, her concentration shattered. Alice gratefully closed her notebook and gathered up her books, sliding her feet into a pair of ballet flats.

"Are you going out?" Rosalie wondered.

"No," Alice explained, "not really. But I'm supposed to meet with my counselor today to work on passing out of French class."

Rosalie arched one delicate eyebrow. "You speak French?"

Alice nodded. "For seven years. You?"

Rosalie grimaced. "Latin. And I'm not very good, either."

Alice shrugged nonchalantly and turned away, secretly pleased. So maybe Rosalie_ wasn't_ perfect, after all.

_________________________________________________________________________

Alice really, _really_ didn't like her counselor. No, that wasn't the right way to put it. She wasn't comfortable with him at all. He was nice enough; perhaps overly so. But he made her restless and uneasy.

"So you say you've already taken all the courses in French we offer here?" he prompted, flipping through her recommendation letters absently.

"That's right."

"Well this," he waved the papers at her, "all seems to be in order. Your credits will be transferred from the advanced placement classes you took in high school."

"So I can drop the class?" Alice asked hopefully.

He smiled indulgently at her, "You may. Use the extra time to study, or, if I may recommend something, take up another elective. You may believe now that you wish to pursue a career in medicine, but its best to keep your options open. Another elective in the humanities department, perhaps?"

Alice blinked. Her schedule was overfull as it was. "Um…maybe next semester?" He looked displeased, and she rushed to continue, "Because I was considering Shakespeare II. Which is only offered second semester."

But that wasn't right. What did it matter what he thought?

Alice had the sudden notion that it would be best if she played along now…for all involved. And, over the years, she had learned to trust that gut instinct.

He nodded in approval. "A wise decision."

"Great!" Alice pasted a falsely cheerful smile on her face and rose quickly from her hard, wooden chair, reaching over the desk to shake his hand.

"I'm glad you feel that way," he smiled, baring a mouthful of straight white teeth. "I have a very good feeling about you and your special talents, dear."

Alice froze, like a deer caught in the headlights. _Special talents? _The sudden image of this man ripping a young girl into shreds with those teeth flashed before her eyes.

_Run._

She left quickly but with dignity, ignoring that crazed inner voice until she had closed his door behind her. Then she ran. And ran, her feet carrying her swiftly over the paved sidewalks and down through the gardens into the woods. She was reminded of the brief time she had attempted to run cross country competitively—and utterly failed, because she'd gotten bored after the first mile and a half. Her coach had criticized her short attention span. Alice stole his coffee every morning for a week in retaliation. But now, now she ran.

In fact, at that moment she was so focused on running away that she didn't notice the man standing beneath the trees until it was too late.

"Ouch!"

He didn't even stumble. Alice rubbed her bruised shoulder and looked up to apologize. Jasper looked down at her irritably. Oh. The words got lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth.

He glared at her in silence while she tried to form a coherent explanation. Or apology; that might be simpler.

"Um…I'm…uh, that is…"

Maybe not.

"Sorry!"

He stared at her incredulously and turned away, mumbling quietly.

"Excuse me, I didn't quite get that," she said loudly, catching his arm. He looked back over his shoulder and met her gaze evenly.

"It's not safe to run in this place alone. You'll attract the attention of something that will enjoy chasing you."

"Are there coyotes in these woods?" She asked curiously.

He pulled his arm away. "No."

"Wild dogs?"

"Not that I've seen."

Aha! Alice immediately latched on to the implication. "So you come here often?"

He shot her a pained look and began to walk away.

"Hey!" She scrambled after him and grabbed hold of his elbow again, indignant, "I was talking to you!"

He ignored her. She scowled at him. They walked together through the trees; the only sound coming from the chirping of the small brown sparrows overhead and the squish of their shoes in the grass.

She kept her eyes locked on his face, sure that if she stared long enough he might be uncomfortable enough to say something to her. Anything. So far, it wasn't working. Perhaps it was time to try a more proactive approach.

"So how come I never see you around anymore?"

He said nothing, so she continued cheerfully. "I mean, I know classes are starting up, but you can't have that much studying to do already! I'm kind of worried about them myself—just this morning my counselor was trying to force extra Literature classes on me." She shuddered. "And then he creeped me out by telling me I had 'special talents'." She made quotation marks in the air with her free hand.

Jasper surprised her then by stopping dead. She kept walking, and stumbled. His hands moved out, almost involuntarily, to catch her before she fell.

"Alice, who is your counselor?"

She examined his face carefully. It was as blank and uninviting as ever, but there was something else running behind his eyes. Something more—dark. Dangerous. Strangely, she wasn't afraid. At least he was talking to her again.

"Um…Mr. Voltur. Aro Voltur."

"I don't believe it!" Jasper let go of her and stepped back, running a hand through his perfect golden hair. He let out something that sounded like a laugh—but it was too angry. She stared at him, the sudden display of emotion shocking her into silence.

He continued as if he had forgotten she was there. "First James, and then Aro—no, that's not right. First there was me." His voice quieted, and he turned his head to look at her. She forced herself to look back, and not show the fear that was creeping up her spine, freezing her legs and tongue.

"What is it about you," he asked, taking a step closer, "that attracts us like flies to honey? Like sharks to blood in water."

Alice took a deep breath. "Jasper, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is that right?" He took another step closer. She flinched back a step. He kept coming.

"Jasper, you're scaring me!"

He stopped, then, and stared at her. The fire drained from his eyes, leaving only wariness tinged with remorse in its wake. "I'm sorry, Alice. But I think you should go back to your room now."

She went. Not looking back, not lingering. But not to her rooms. No, the further she got from him, the more her fear began to be replaced by curiosity. And she knew just where to find the answers.

-----------------------------------------

For all the indignant Retrieval fans: I know! And the update is coming any day now, I swear!

For the rest of you who read this because you were interested: Thanks! I know it's been a long time in coming (Chapter 3, I mean) but I hope to update more regularly. I started this a while ago--when I was in one of the "no reviews no chapters" phases. We've all had those, haven't we? But I'm over that hump, thankfully.

Which is not to say I don't appreciate reviews anymore. I do!

P.S. The fragments at the top, which someone asked about, are from The Ballad of Tam Lin. Lovely piece of work, that.


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